Delphi
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Delphi, a Greek city-state situated in Phocis on the lower southern slopes of Mt. Parnassus about 2,000 feet (610 meters)
above the Gulf of Corinth. Delphi was the seat of the oldest and most sacred sanctuary and of the most famous oracle in ancient Greece. According to
legend, Zeus, wishing to learn the exact center of the earth, released two eagles from opposite ends of the world. Their meeting
point was marked by the Omphalos, an ovoid stone that in historical times lay in the inner sanctuary of the Temple of Apollo.
This fetish was probably the oldest cult object on the site. Archaeology proves that Delphi was occupied in Mycenaean times;
by the 5th century B.C. it was generally believed to be possessed first by the earth goddess (Gaea), then by
her daughter Themis, and finally by Apollo, with whom Dionysus somehow
was associated. (See also
Zeus;
Omphalos;
Apollo;
Mycenaean Civilization;
Gaea;
Themis;
Dionysus.)
The Oracle
The first reference to an oracle at Pytho, the older and ritual name of Delphi, is in Homer's Odyssey, book 8, lines 79–81. Since the oracle survived until 390 A.D., changes in oracular methods may well have occurred.
Because of these possible changes, the ambiguous literary and archaeological evidence, and the philosophical and religious
speculations on the phenomenon, it is impossible to be certain about the exact nature of the oracular technique. The traditional
view is that the priestess, the Pythia, entered the small inner sanctuary of the Temple of Apollo, in which were located a
golden statue of Apollo, the Omphalos, the supposed tomb of Dionysus, and a deep chasm surmounted by a tripod on which she
seated herself. After drinking water from a sacred spring, chewing laurel leaves, and shaking a laurel branch, she fell into
a trance induced by vapors arising from the chasm. Then, writhing on the tripod, with hair disheveled and lips foaming, in
prophetic
frenzy she uttered hysterical words that the priests recorded. This view was bolstered when, in 1998, researchers found intersecting
geologic fault lines under the temple that released ethylene gas. However, certain ancient writings and artistic representations
imply that the Pythia sat quietly on the tripod. It has been suggested that factors such as the following contributed to the
legend of the Pythia's delirium:
1) Plato's insistence on the irrational element in prophetic "enthusiasm";
2) the later materialistic doctrines of emanations from the earth;
3) the association of Dionysus—and thus of his maenads—with Apollo at Delphi;
4) confusion of the methods of sibyls with those of the Pythia.; and
Lucan in the 1st century A.D. gave classic form to the conception of the frenzied Pythia, and subsequently
various church fathers, in their desire to discredit all things pagan, distorted the picture still more. (See also
Homer;
Odyssey;
Plato;
Lucan.)
The following statements can be made with considerable certainty. The oracle was accessible to all, but originally only once
a year. At a later time the oracle was accessible once a month, except possibly for the three winter months when Apollo supposedly
left the shrine to Dionysus. Individuals and states that had received privileges from the city of Delphi could consult the
oracle on any day except those banned by the liturgical calendar. Before submitting a question, the inquirer made an offering
(originally in kind, later in money) and sacrificed a goat. If the question was in the form of an alternative, the Pythia
may have provided the answer through some system of lot. Other questions were usually presented in writing—presumably to the
two prophets or priests responsible for the Pythia's answers.
Originally a young virgin was chosen as priestess, but, after one had been assaulted, it was ruled that no woman under 50
could hold the position. The older Pythia, nevertheless, wore a young maiden's costume and had to remain chaste while in office.
In the flourishing period of Delphi there were apparently two Pythiae and an alternate. Throughout most of the oracle's history,
the post was held by simple, unlettered women. Only in imperial times did ladies of prominent families serve as priestesses.
History
The cult of Apollo was certainly established at Delphi by the 8th century B.C. In the next century the oracle,
through careful collection and shrewd use of information, acquired such fame that it was regularly consulted concerning the
establishment of colonies and about innumerable other matters, both public and private.
Probably by the mid-7th century the amphictyony (a religious league of states) that met in the Temple of Demeter in Anthela
had brought Delphi under its control. Thereafter Delphi became the real center of this important religious league. In about
590 B.C. the league fought a sacred war against Crisa, which apparently had been exacting tolls from visitors
to Delphi. Crisa was destroyed, its plain was dedicated to Apollo, and, to commemorate the victory, the quadrennial Pythian
Games were established under the supervision of the Amphictyonic League. (See also
Demeter;
Pythian Games;
Amphictyony.)
In the 7th and 6th centuries, Delphi was friendly toward Lydia and received generous gifts from its kings, especially Croesus.
During the Persian invasions Delphi discouraged resistance, but despite this it received many dedications of thanks after
the Greek victory in 479 B.C. In the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 B.C., Delphi favored Sparta
and was richly rewarded after the capitulation of Athens. The Phocians, who had been heavily fined by the Amphictyonic League
for alleged sacrilege, seized Delphi in 356 B.C. A sacred war was waged against them from 355 to 346 B.C.
Although the Phocians stripped the sanctuary of its treasures to hire mercenaries, they were defeated, chiefly by Philip II
of Macedon, to whom their place in the Amphictyonic League was assigned. About 300 B.C. the Aetolian League
took Delphi, retaining control until its liberation by the Romans in 191 B.C. In 279 B.C. a
Celtic attack on Delphi was stopped mainly by Phocians and Aetolians. The Aetolian
League then tried to make Delphi its religious and artistic capital. (See also
Lydia;
Peloponnesian War;
Phocis;
Philip II;
Aetolian League.)
Under the Roman domination of Greece, the oracle was seldom consulted on public affairs. Sulla commandeered many of its treasures
when fighting in Greece, and Nero reportedly carried off 500 bronze statues. By the 4th century A.D. the influence
of Delphi had sunk so low that Julian the Apostate could not revive it. In 390 A.D. Theodosius I, in the name
of Christianity, silenced the oracle forever. (See also
Sulla, Lucius Cornelius;
Nero;
Julian;
Theodosius I.)
The Site
Regular excavations at Delphi were begun by the French in 1892, after the Greek government had removed the village of Kastri,
which lay above the sacred precinct. The sanctuary, a walled area of over 20,000 square yards (16,700 sq km), was surrounded
on three sides by the city of Delphi. The main entrance to the sanctuary was at the southeast, where the Sacred Way began
its zigzag climb to the Temple of Apollo. The precinct contained innumerable commemorative monuments dedicated by states and
individuals, some 20 treasuries erected by various states, and in the northwest corner a small theater.
The Temple of Apollo occupied the central position. The original small temple was burned about 548 B.C. The
second temple, for which members of the Athenian Alcmaeonidae family were the chief contractors, was completed in 510 B.C.
This building, of which Euripides gives a part description in Ion, was destroyed by earthquake in 373 B.C. The new temple, although often damaged, survived until its ruination
by Arcadius about 400 A.D. The remains of the architectural monuments and sculpture, works wrought by artists
from all over the Greek world, are of the utmost importance for the study of Greek art. (See also
Euripides;
Ion;
Arcadius.)
Significance
In Greek history the chief significance of Delphi was that it provided a meeting place for the inhabitants of the innumerable
particularistic city-states. As an international sanctuary it helped to foster a spirit of Panhellenism, to which the Panhellenic
Pythian Games contributed. In religion its influence was conservative. On the subject of purification from bloodguilt, it
took a strong stand and gradually evolved the doctrine that purity was a matter of the spirit rather than of ritual. Its moderate
philosophy was well summarized by the maxims inscribed on the wall of the Temple of Apollo—"Know thyself" and "Nothing too much."
John V. A. Fine
Princeton University
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